A vividly accessible dramatization of the well-known Gospel stories of Jesus’ early years.
A novel focuses on the childhood and youth of Jesus.
This new work by Fuja (a follow-up to his 2014 debut novel, Favored) takes up the familiar story of the boyhood of Jesus of Nazareth, from the Bethlehem cave of his birth to his entry into his public ministry and the recruitment of his disciples. But the bulk of this volume centers on Jesus’ boyhood, situating him in the middle of a warm and extended family: not just his parents, but also his grandparents and cousins such as Mary’s kinswoman Elizabeth; her husband, Zechariah; and their son John, who will grow up to become John the Baptist. In this version of the Bible story, Joseph is 19 and Mary 15 when Jesus is born. Three Persian wise men—Balthazar, Kaspar, and Melchior—visit the cozy family. Meanwhile, the whole of Judea suffers under the tyranny of the murderous King Herod the Great. As the affable Joseph makes friends everywhere (including the Roman centurion Gaius Longinus, who will intersect with the life of Jesus in later years), the narrative fleshes out the Gospel stories. Young “Yeshua,” raised and loved by his parents, plays with his cousin John. Fuja presents all of this in a refreshingly modern-sounding idiom; for instance, at one point the grandmother of young John confesses, “I hate to say this, but I think my grandson is goofy.” Juxtaposed with this warm familial setting are long and fascinating sections on the hateful sons of Herod the Great, who scheme and plot against each other upon their father’s death. The crown goes to the vile Archelaus, whose brother Herod Antipas is at first grateful to be allowed to live. Antipas’ wife, the demonic Herodias (in a wonderful detail, readers are told she attended “clandestine gatherings of idol worshipers in the high places”), feels less satisfied with her lot, and the dramatic payoff of the book involves her evil scheming. Fuja blends all these elements into a contemporary-feeling narrative that grows stronger as it progresses.
A vividly accessible dramatization of the well-known Gospel stories of Jesus’ early years.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5144-3831-2
Page Count: 348
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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